April 12 2013

The Value of Mentoring

By Daniel Metz, Specialist, Marketing

Fostering the growth of junior staff is an under-emphasized but largely rewarding responsibility. For those willing to take on the mentor role, the benefits to you and your organization make the decision a no-brainer.

Organizational benefits

Mentorship programs, whether formal or informal, have been shown to be a necessary part of junior staff growth. From advising with challenges, to positioning junior staff for advancement, the relationship is critical to the organization. If employees know someone has their back and genuinely wants to help them succeed in their career, morale will be higher. A mentorship program can not only decrease turnover but, the loyalty of an engaged employee will help them contribute more passionately to a company’s success.

Personal benefits

Obviously not all junior staff may be looking for a mentor or fit with the qualities that pique your interest. Through your interactions with staff, someone will strike a chord with you - whether it's their passion, ideas, or potential - pay attention to those moments throughout the day.

Like Vince Vaughn said in Wedding Crashers, “people helping people, its powerful stuff."

Seeing your mentee advance and knowing his or her career took the next step under your tutelage is rewarding AND you will take something from the experience that will benefit your career as well - new ideas, new vigor for your role, or a new contact. You never know how your career path may interact in the future with past mentees.

Take mentoring to your next meeting

PCMA sought to make attendees at Convening Leaders 2013 have an incredible first time experience which would hopefully lead to a second, third and fourth.

Sheila Mires, director, member services, led the Die Hard/Novice mentoring program and said while it was a lot of work to pair first time attendees with long term repeat attendees, she couldn't have been happier with the results.

“I received a lot of feedback from Novices saying how much they enjoyed the program and how beneficial it was to have someone there to guide them through the meeting and help advance their network” said Mires.

The Novices weren't the only ones finding value in the program though.

Mires explains that she “had a number of Die Hards asking me for details about the program so they can replicate it for their next meeting.”

One piece of advice Mires offers, “is to have back-up mentors. There is always an attrition rate with a program like this and you don’t want someone to be stuck without a mentor.”